Wetsuit Tech
The latest wetsuit technology all in one place.
We’ve come to expect a lot from a top of the line winter wetsuit, but we didn’t expect Billabong’s Furnace Comp 4:3 chest zip steamer to catapult itself this far into the very top echelon of technology leaders. Billabong has changed. The brand used to be so cool that it......
C-Skins is relatively new in the New Zealand market, but if the brand’s ReWired 3:2 chest zip steamer is anything to go by then we expect its going to play a bigger role in years to come. We put the new steamer to the test from February right into the......
When it comes to wetsuits, women and children usually draw the short straw: below-tier taping, average linings and warmth, comfort … seemingly not so important. O’Neill’s women’s Hyperfreak 4:3+ Chest Zip turns that on its head. The 2019 O’Neill Hyperfreak designed for women really changes the game. It takes O’Neill’s......
Lost Track follows two Byron Bay mates surfer Torren Martyn and filmmaker Ishka Folkwell as they embark on the journey of a lifetime throughout New Zealand in search of perfect waves and life long memories. Their three-month motorcycle surfing adventure takes them into the depths of our great southern land......
Love them or hate them, booties are like the necessary evil when it comes to year-round surfing in New Zealand. Solite reckons its Custom 3mm heat-moldable booties have taken winter surfing to a whole new level. We bought a pair to find our for ourselves. But before we get into......
Born of New Zealand, Coastlines Wetsuits, officially pulled up a chair at the global rubber buffet when they launched just a few short months ago. NZSJ discovered they have some heavy hitters on their team and their heart’s in the right place. A few months before the brand launched, former......
The Covid-19 health crisis has taught New Zealanders a lot of things, but nothing has become clearer: we need to support local surf businesses. By supporting them we pump the vascular system of our very own New Zealand surf industry. And that reaches deep into the heart of our surf......
Lying on a table in Seventhwave’s Ferrymead factory in Christchurch is a fluffy orange wetsuit that doesn’t look anything like the wetsuit manufacturer’s flagship Yamamoto suits. Sarah smiles, she lifts the wetsuit up and explains the prototype to me. “I haven’t surfed in this one yet,” she admits with a......
At the start of 2019 Rip Curl launched an all-new wetsuit aimed straight at the top end of the market and billed to incorporate technology that would change the wetsuit game forever. We got our hands on a Flashbomb Heat Seeker 4:3 and thrashed it to death. Here’s what we......
We were blown away by the value for money with our Need Essentials steamer produced by a company that prides itself on stripping away the costs of traditional surf wetsuit production. By minimising packaging, branding, expensive advertising campaigns and retail markups, Need Essentials is able to deliver a high-end adult......